Latest Articles about Foreign Policy
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Azerbaijan, Belarus Pursue Military Cooperation
Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov visited Belarus, on October 9–10, and toured local defense-industry enterprises to review modern military equipment that could help boost the capabilities of the Azerbaijani army (Mod.gov.az, October 8, 10). The Ministry of Defense released photos of Hasanov standing in front... MORE
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Moscow Patriarchate Promotes the Kremlin’s Interests and Its Own in the Middle East
The Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is intensifying its efforts to promote the Kremlin’s interests and its own in the Middle East. Although the Church, either directly or as a cover for Soviet and Russian security agencies, has long been active in that... MORE
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Olympic Fiasco Illuminates Putin’s Weakness
The decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban the Russian delegation from the 2018 Winter Olympics was predictable—and the indignant response in Moscow was ready. Hesitant voices of clean athletes, who pleaded to be able to partake in the international competition under a... MORE
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Yang Jiechi: Xi Jinping’s Top Diplomat Back in His Element
In the new leadership line-up following the recent 19th Party Congress, Yang Jiechi (杨洁篪), deserves special attention as the new arbiter of China’s foreign affairs. His promotion to the Politburo, with the prospect of becoming Vice-Premier taking overall charge of foreign affairs across multiple portfolios,... MORE
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Hungary: China’s Gateway to the EU Market
On November 24, Li Keqiang, China’s premier and top economic official, arrived in Budapest to great fanfare (China Economic Daily, November 29). Although Hungary is not typically on lists of major economic partners for China—even maps of the trans-Eurasian Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) skip... MORE
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Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan Dispute on Track for Resolution, but Risks Remain
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are the only two countries of Central Asia that participate in regional economic integration as members of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). While bilateral relations have historically been cordial, with Kazakhstan actively supporting Kyrgyzstan’s efforts to modernize its economy and ensure... MORE
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Belarus in a Love Triangle With Russia and the West?
Belarus openly admits to pursuing a multi-directional foreign policy. And Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei has made multiple statements about the difficulties of balancing between East and West under growing tensions and belligerent rhetoric from both sides (see, for example, Belta, June 2). But if Belarus’s... MORE
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Will Khartoum’s Appeal to Putin for Arms and Protection Bring Russian Naval Bases to the Red Sea?
Though Sudan’s national economy is near collapse, the November 23 visit of Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir to Russia’s top leadership in Sochi was dominated by expensive arms purchases and Sudan’s appeal to Russia for “protection from aggressive actions by the United States” (TASS, November 23;... MORE
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Russian Overreach Calls Into Question Baku’s Balanced Foreign Policy
Like his father Heydar Aliyev before him, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev remains committed to a balanced foreign policy, one that seeks to maintain good relations with both the Russian Federation and the West. But a series of Russian actions that Baku views as hostile have... MORE
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Crimea as a Playground for the Russian-Ukrainian Spy War
A Russian court in occupied Sevastopol sentenced Ukrainian former military expert Dmitry Shtyblykov, on November 16, to five years imprisonment in a strict penal colony (Regnum, November 16). Shtyblykov worked at the think tank Nomos, which, prior to the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014,... MORE